European & International News

International news globe All the latest news from the European Union, its member states, and beyond.

European & International News
MEPs call for a directive to combat violence against women

Posted on 16 March 2011 |

[European Parliament, Brussels, 15 March 2011] Rape and other sexual violence against women should be recognised as a crime throughout the EU, and its perpetrators prosecuted automatically, said the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee on Tuesday, in a resolution calling for an EU directive to combat gender-based violence.
The committee calls for a criminal-law instrument in the form of an EU directive against gender-based violence. 20-25% of all women in Europe have experienced (...) Read more
European & International News
What Europeans think about fighting gender discrimination in the EU

Posted on 14 March 2011 |

[European Parliament, Brussels, 11 March 2011] A large majority of European women and men believe that women face major barriers to reaching positions of responsibility at work. However, they prefer persuasive measures to legally binding quotas for filling positions on company boards. As for the gender pay gap, priority should go to encouraging better distribution between the sexes in all kinds of jobs.
These are among the findings of a Eurobarometer survey on "Fighting against gender (...) Read more
European & International News
EIGE marks International Women’s Day with release of list of 100 Inequalities

Posted on 10 March 2011 |

[Brussels, 11 March 2011] On 8 March, The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), based in Vilnius, Lituania, issued a list of 100 facts and figures illustrating the remaining gaps in gender equality within the EU. Read the EIGE Press Release below, and download the factsheet.
EIGE Press Release, Vilnius, 8 March 2011
8 March 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has produced a list of 100 Inequalities to (...) Read more
European & International News
Women’s rights one hundred years on: the fight continues in the EP’s FEMM Committee

Posted on 8 March 2011 |

[European Parliament, Brussels, 08 March 2011] Parliament marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day (Tuesday 8 March) with a debate and vote on two resolutions tabled by the Women’s Rights Committee: one on gender equality and the other on female poverty. A third resolution, on reducing health inequalities, was also adopted.
In a special ceremony held on Tuesday to commemorate 100 years of campaigning for women’s rights, EP President Buzek said "There are too few women in the (...) Read more
European & International News
Women Make the News

Posted on 8 March 2011 |

[UNESCO, Paris, 8 March 2011] Launched annually on the occasion of International Women’s Day (8 March), Women Make the News (WMN) is a global initiative coordinated by UNESCO aimed at promoting gender equality in the media.
The theme for this year’s - “Media and Information Literacy (MIL) and Gender” – seeks to highlight good practices in this area and emphasize the importance of fostering media and information literate societies as a way to improve the understanding of women and men about (...) Read more
European & International News
UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet on the International Women’s Day Centennial

Posted on 8 March 2011 |

[New York, 8 March 2011] A hundred years ago today, women across the world took an historic step on the long road to equality. The first ever International Women’s Day was called to draw attention to the unacceptable and often dangerous working conditions that so many women faced worldwide. Although the occasion was celebrated in only a handful of countries, it brought over one million women out onto the streets, demanding not just better conditions at work but also the right to vote, to (...) Read more
European & International News
International Women’s Day Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay

Posted on 8 March 2011 |

[Geneva, 8 March 2011] On this day, I salute the women of the Middle East and North Africa, along with women all over the world who are taking great risks to stand up and fight for dignity, justice and human rights for themselves and for their compatriots. In Egypt and Tunisia, women were on Twitter, on Facebook, and on the streets. Women from all walks of life were marching alongside men, pushing boundaries and breaking gender stereotypes, just as eager for change, for human rights and for (...) Read more
European & International News
Nepal Supreme Court: Abortion Is a Right

Posted on 7 March 2011 |

[Center for Reproductive Rights, New York, 7 March 2011] In a recent decision in the case of Lakshmi Dhikta v. Nepal, the Supreme Court of Nepal ruled that the country’s government must guarantee access to safe and affordable abortion services. Specifically, it affirmed the need for a comprehensive abortion law and emphasized the government’s obligation to ensure that no woman is denied a legal abortion just because she cannot pay for it. The case, which was filed by the Forum for Women, (...) Read more
European & International News
Is he 2in2u? Women’s Aid highlights abuse of young women on Valentine’s Day

If it feels wrong, it probably is...

Posted on 7 March 2011 |

[Brussels, 07 March 2011] On 14 February 2011, the Irish association Women’s Aid launched its new national “2in2u” public awareness campaign on dating abuse. This interesting campaign has a website for the support young women affected and includes a relationship health check: visit http://www.2in2u.ie/. Read the Women’s Aid Press Release below.
Today, Monday 14th February 2011, Women’s Aid will launch a ground breaking national public awareness campaign targeting young women experiencing abuse (...) Read more
European & International News
European Parliament’s FEMM Committee calls for quotas for women

Posted on 7 March 2011 |

[Brussels, 07 March 2011] On the occasion of the 100th anniverary of International Women’s Day, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality calls for quotas for women. Read the FEMM Committee Press Release below.
Quotas are needed to ensure equal representation of women in the private and public sectors, agreed most participants in a meeting held by the EP Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee with national parliaments’ representatives on Thursday, ahead of the 100th anniversary (...) Read more